Beveled core shoe construction and process for same



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63 MI I United States Patent "ice 3,530,597 BEVELED CORE SHOE CONSTRUCTION AND PROCESS FOR SAME Charles F. Batchelder, Milton, and Jerome A. Rubico,

Boston, Mass., assignors to Batchelder Rubico, Inc., Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 689,884,

Dec. 12, 1967. This application Sept. 17, 1968,

Ser. No. 760,227

Int. Cl. A43b 9/12 US. Cl. 36-19.5 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shoe construction and process utilizing a planar lasting core that has a beveled, peripheral margin extending around at least the forepart and shank portions of the core. An upper is lasted to the beveled margin of the lasting core and then the high spots of the upper are removed until the outer surface of the lasted upper and the lasting core are substantially co-planar. Alternatively, the upper can be lasted to an L- or T-shaped sewing rib that is secured to the beveled margin of the lasting core. A sole element is secured to the lasted upper, and thereafter, the manufacture of the shoe is completed in a conventional manner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Ser. No. 689,884, filed Dec. 12, 1967, for Locked Shoe Construction and Process for same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to shoe making in general and, more specifically, to a shoe construction and process utilizing a planar, lasting core having a beveled, peripherial margin that extends around at least the forepart and shank portions of the core. The lasting core has the same general configuration as the interior of the finished shoe. The process of the invention is generally applicable to cement process, Littleway and Goodyear shoe constructions and it is particularly suitable for shoes made with unlined uppers, such as, moccasins.

In our co-pending application cited above, we described a locked shoe construction and process for the same. Conceptually, the locked shoe construction process can be divided into two variant methods which are identified in the application as Interlock and Overlock. The Interlock construction utilizes a lasting means which is temporarily attached to the bottom of the last. The lasting means is made smaller than the bottom of the last by a circumferential margin of approximately of an inch in width. After lasting the upper to the lasting means, the lasting means is removed from the shoe and a preassembled sole element is secured to the lasted upper by conventional means. In the Overlook construction, the upper is lasted to a core or island which is temporarily secured to the bottom of the last. The core, like the lasting means used in practicing the Interlock construction, is smaller than the bottom of the last, but has the same general shape as the last bottom. The upper is lasted to the Overlock core and then the excess lasting margin of the upper is removed from the lasting core. Unlike the Interlock construction, the lasting core of the Overlock construction remains in the finished shoe.

Both the Interlock and Overlook constructions described in our co-pending application utilize a predetermined registration area on the bottom of the last. The registration area corresponds, both in size and configuration, to the area defined by the inner periphery of the trimmed lasted upper. A corresponding area is also 3,530,597 Patented Sept. 29, 1970 defined on the flesh face of the sole to be attached to the upper so that a prefinished outersole assembly can be accurately positioned for sole laying attachment to the lasted upper with a degree of precision substantially exceeding that now achieved in the shoe making industry.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a shoe construction and process for the same which combines the lightness and flexibility of the Interlock construction with the principle of the Overlock construction wherein the margin of an upper is lasted over a lasting core which remains in the finished shoe.

In the accomplishment of this object, we last an upper to a planar lasting core that has the same general configuration as the interior of the finished shoe. The lasting core has a beveled, peripheral margin which extends around at least the forepart and shank portions of the core. The upper is lasted to the beveled margin of the lasting core and then the high spots of the upper are removed until the outer surface of the lasted upper and the lasting core are substantially co-planar. The upper can also be lasted to an L- or T-shaped sewing rib that is secured to the beveled margin of the lasting core. A sole element is then secured to the lasted upper and, thereafter, the manufacture of the shoe is completed in a conventional manner.

It is a feature of the present invention that the process is particularly applicable to the manufacture of moccasin type shoes made with a midsole Littleway stitched to the upper and an outersole Goodyear stitched to the midsole. Although the process of the present invention does not provide the extremely accurate registration of soles to uppers that is achieved by the Interlock and Overlock methods, it will be appreciated that such methods cannot be employed for moccasin type manufactured with a midsole Littleway stitched to the upper and outersole Goodyear stitched to the midsole. For such moccasin type shoes, the present invention permits the manufacturer to fully realize the major cost savings that are inherent in the cutting of strip vamps instead of the traditional U-shaped vamps. Additional savings can also be realized by stitching the moccasin plug to the strip vamps while the upper components are off of the last.

The objects and features of the present invention will best be understood from a detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of illustrations, and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial side perspective of a fitted moccasin p pp FIG. 2 is a plan view of a planar lasting core having a beveled, peripheral margin;

FIG. 3 is a view in cross-section taken along line 33 in FIG. 2 showing one form of the marginal bevel;

FIG. 4 is a similar cross-sectional view to that of FIG. 3 showing another form of the marginal bevel;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a last showing the beveled lasting core tacked thereto and an upper drafted over the last;

FIG. '6 is another plan view of the last and lasting core showing one side of the upper pulled over the beveled lasting margin of the lasting core;

FIG. 7 is a view in cross-section showing a portion of the last and the beveled lasting core;

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 7 with the addition of the upper drafted over the last;

FIG. 9 is a similar view in cross-section showing diagrammatically the removal of the high spots of the lasted pp FIG. 10 is a view in cross-section showing an outersole ready for attachment to the substantially planar surface of the lasted upper and the lasting core;

FIG. 11 is a view in cross-section showing the outersole stitched to the lasted upper;

FIG. 12 is a view in cross-section showing an alternative embodiment wherein the lasting margin of the upper has a complementary bevel to the bevel of the lasting core;

FIG. 13 is a plan view ofa last and one alternative embodiment of the lasting core having a full width heel portion and reduced width shank and forepart portions;

FIG. 14 is a view in cross-section taken along line 1414 in FIG. 13 showing the relatively smaller width of the forepart portion of the beveled lasting core;

FIG. 15 is a view in cross-section taken along line 1515 in FIG. 13 showing the full width of the heel portion of the alternative embodiment of the lasting core;

FIG. 16 is a view in cross-section showing a last and another embodiment of a lasting core in which the size of the entire beveled portion of the core is substantially equal to the size of the corresponding portion of the last bottom;

FIG. 17 is a view in cross-section of the lasting core and a portion of the last showing one side of an unlined upper lasted to the beveled margin of the lasting core;

FIG. 18 is a similar view to FIG. 17 showing the use of a lined upper;

FIG. 19 is a view in cross-section depicting a fullsize, beveled lasting core, a beveled upper, 21 T-shaped sewing rib secured to the beveled margin of the core and a welt stitched to the upper and the sewing rib; and,

FIG. is a view in cross-section illustrating the use of an L-shaped sewing rib.

Turning now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1, a partial side perspective of a fitted moccasin type upper indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. The moccasin type construction has been selected for purposes of illustrating the basic concepts and process of the present invention. However, it should be understood at the outset, that the beveled core shoe construction and process of the invention are applicable to other types of shoes, such as, for example with Littleway shoes, cement process and Goodyear shoes.

The fitted moccasin type upper 10 depicted in FIG. 1 comprises a generally broad V-shaped strip vamp 12 and a moccasin plug 14 which is attached to the vamp by a row of stitching 16. Straight or U-shaped vamps can also be used to form the fitted upper 10. The heel portion of the fitted moccasin type upper has a conventional counter-lining 18 and a back stay 20. One of the major advantages of the present invention is that the handsewing of the moccasin plug to the strip vamp can be done while the fitted upper is off of the last. This operation can be performed by relatively unskilled sewers. Since the upper components are off the last during sewing, the hand sewer can not only 'work faster, but also can sew a neater seam without requiring any trimming of the vamp. The present invention thus allows the shoe manufacturer to produce a finer hand-sewn moccasin type upper at a reduced cost which compares favorably with a machine sewn upper.

Referring to FIGS. 2. through 4, the shoe construction and process of the present invention utilizes a planar lasting core 22 which is conceptually related to the Overlock core described in our above mentioned co-pending application. The periphery of the lasting core 22 substantially follows the contour of the last bottom. However, the overall size of the lasting core 22 is smaller than the last bottom and, therefore, the core is smaller than the interior of the finished shoe. For moccasin type shoes, the lasting core 22 is preferably cut from the same stock as used for the uppers. For shoes having lined uppers, the lasting core 22 can be of any suitable material having a thickness roughly equivalent to the combined thickness of the upper and the lining.

The planar lasting core 22 has a beveled, peripheral margin 24 that extends around at least the forepart and shank portions of the core. A number of alternative constructions for the lasting core 22 can be utilized to practice the process of our invention. The alternative constructions will be discussed below after we have described the basic steps in our shoe making process. Preferably, the margin of the lasting core is skived with a bevel at least as wide as four times the thickness of the stock from which the lasting core is cut. For unlined shoes, it is desirable to place the skiving on the grain side of the stock.

Two alternative configurations for the peripheral bevel 24 are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the beveled margin comprises a straight taper 2411 which connects on the outer surface 22a of the lasting core at a point spaced inwardly from the edge of the core and then extends outwardly to the edge of the core. In FIG. 4, the beveled marginal area comprises a relatively fiat portion indicated by the reference numeral 24b and a sharply rising shoulder portion 240. Either configuration can be employed in practicing the process of the present invention as will be apparent from the following description of the lasting and sole laying operations.

The skived bevel 24 of the lasting core is preferably coated with an activatable cement before the core is attached to the last bottom with the beveled surface facing outwardly as shown in FIG. 5. The lasting core 22 is temporarily secured to the bottom of last 26 by means of lasting tacks 28. Other methods of temporarily securing the lasting core to the last bottom, such as, releasable adhesives and roller wafers, can be used to practice the process of the present invention. The bottom of the last may be marked by a line or scribe marks to define a registration area within which the lasting core 22 is placed and secured to the last bottom. The registration area is defined on the bottom of last 26 by the dashed lines 30 shown in FIG. 5. The markings 30 are provided to assist the operator in spotting the lasting core on the bottom of the last. However, with experience, it is possible for the operator to spot the lasting core 22 on the bottom of the last without the aid of the registration area markings 30. It will be appreciated that since the lasting core 22 has the same configuration as the last bottom, but is slightly smaller in size, the core can be placed on the bottom so that the exposed portions of the last bottom on each side of the longitudinal and transverse axes of the lasting core are equal.

Once the lasting core is spotted on the bottom of the last and temporarily secured thereto, the fitted moccasin upper 10 is drafted over the last as illustrated in FIG. 5. The lasting operation is then performed in a conventional manner with the upper pulled over and cemented to the beveled, lasting margin of the lasting core 22- as shown in FIG. 6. The relationships of the various components of the shoe during the lasting process are best illustrated in the cross-sectional views shown in FIGS. 7 through 11 of the drawings.

Looking at FIG. 7, the beveled margin lasting core 22 is shown positioned on the bottom of last 26. It should be noted that the tapered edge of the lasting core 22 is positioned well inside of the edge of the last at a distance indicated in FIG. 7 by the small letter a. In this area, the upper is lasted directly to the wood thereby producing a much tighter lasting than can be achieved by conventional methods of shoe construction. In FIG. 8, the upper 12 is shown drafted over the last and ready for pulling over and subsequent attachment to the beveled lasting margin of the lasting core. After the lasting margin 31 of the upper has been cemented to the beveled margin of the lasting core, as shown in FIG. 9, the high spots 32 are removed by a roughing wheel 34. Grinding wheels, sanding, wire brushes, knives and the like can also be employed to remove the high spots of the uppers. The removal operation is continued until the outer surface or sole attaching margin 35 of the upper 12 and the outer surface 22a of the lasting core 22 form a substantially planar sole attaching surface 36 as shown in FIG. 10. A sole element 38 is then cemented to the lasted upper and the lasting core. If desired, a line of Littleway stitching 40 can be placed along the sole attaching margin of the upper to secure the upper to the sole element 38, as shown in FIG. 11.

Looking now at FIG. 12, the time required for removing or grinding down the high spots of the lasted upper can be appreciably reduced by using a prepared upper 42 which has its lasting margin 44 beveled to form a complementary bevel with the beveled peripheral margin 24 of the lasting core 22. When the beveled upper is pulled over, wiped down and cemented to the complementary beveled margin of the lasting core, the outer surfaces of the two components form a substantially planar sole attaching surface similar to the surface 36 shown in FIG. 10.

We have previously mentioned that a number of alternative lasting core constructions can be employed in our shoe making process. Two such constructions are shown in FIGS. 13 through 18. Looking at the plan view of FIG. 13 and the corresponding sectional views shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the lasting core 22 has a full width heel portion 46 and reduced width shank and forepart portions 48 and 50, respectively, measured with respect to the last 26. In this embodiment, the beveled peripheral margin 24 extends around the forepart and shank portions, but not around the full width heel portion of the lasting core.

It is also possible to use a full size lasting core 22 that has substantially the same contour and size as the last bottom. Such a lasting core is illustrated in FIG. 16 in cross-section on the bottom of last 26. FIG. 17 depicts the lasting of an unlined, complementary beveled upper 52 to the beveled margin of the full size lasting core 22. The same full size lasting core 22 also can be used in conjunction with a lined upper 54 as shown in FIG. 18.

Although the preceding discussion has been directed primarily to shoe constructions in which an outersole or a midsole is adhesively attached directly to the bottom of the lasted upper, the beveled lasting core and the process of the present invention are also applicable to a Goodyear welt shoe.

Referring to FIGS. 19 and 20, the beveled margin lasting core 22 is substituted for a conventional insole. For the Goodyear shoe construction, a sewing rib S6 is adhesively secured to the underside of the lasting core around the beveled periphery thereof. This rib can be either a conventional rib of inverted T cross-section (FIG. 19) or preferably, an L-shaped rib (FIG. 20). The conventional T-shaped rib has a relatively wide upstanding portion compared to the L-shaped rib. Therefore, the lower part of the up-turned portion of the conventional T-shapbed rib and the inseam stitching '58 and welt 60 will be located further below the interior bottom of the finished shoe than with the L-shaped rib. A bottom filler or cushion (not shown) can be used in the area within the inseam. However, it will be appreciated that the use of a filler or cushion will produce a heavier and, in some instances, stilfer shoe.

These problems can be substantially eliminated in a Goodyear welt construction using the beveled margin lasting core of the present invention by employing the L-shaped sewing rib 56 depicted in FIG. 20. With an L-shaped rib, the fold of the rib material can be located further down the slope of the beveled margin 24 and the inseam 58 can be located nearer to the outer edge of the shoe bottom. The upper 62 and its lining and outer components (not shown in FIG. 20) can be cement lasted to the free part 56a of the L-shaped rib while that part of the rib is folded down against the inner flange 56b of the rib which is cemented to the beveled margin of the lasting core 22. The resulting adhesively joined combination of the hinged, free rib portion 56a and the lasting margin of the upper components can be readily raised sufliciently to stitch the inseam 58 and, therafter, folded and cemented down as illustrated diagrammatically by the arrow in FIG. 20. The high spots of the lasting and inseam area can be trimmed down flatter than with a T-shaped rib as indicated by the dashed lines in FIG. 20. Thus the need for filler is avoided. The resulting shoe bottom is lighter, thinner and more flexible than the corresponding construction obtained with a convention T-shaped rib. The Goodyear shoe construction described above can be used for a shoe that is welted around the entire heel portion or the welt construction can be limited only to a part of the shoe periphery. It will be appreciated that the shoe construction shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 arefinished in a conventional manner by adding one or more sole elements 64 and a heel (not shown).

Having described in detail the preferred embodiments of our invention, what we desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe comprising:

a sole element;

a planar lasting core having a beveled peripheral margin extending around at least the forepart and shank portions of the core, and

a lasted upper having an inturned, interior lasting margin and an exterior sole attaching marginal face extending around at least a portion of the periphery of the upper, said upper being lasted and secured to the beveled margin of the lasting core along said inturned lasting margin and also secured to the sole element along said sole attaching marginal face.

2. The shoe of claim 1 further characterized by the inturned, interior lasting margin of said upper having a bevel that is complementary to the bevel of said lasting core margin.

3. The shoe of claim 1 further characterized by said upper sole attaching margin and the outer surface of said lasting core being substantially co-planar.

4. The shoe of claim 1 further characterized by the inturned interior lasting margin of said upper being adhesively secured to the beveled margin of said lasting core.

5. The shoe of claim 1 further characterized by the exterior sole attaching margin of said upper being adhesively secured to said sole element.

6. The shoe of claim 1 further characterized by a line of stitching between said sole element and said upper running along at least a portion of said sole attaching margin.

7. The shoe of claim 1 further characterized by at least part of the inner surface of the upper above the exterior sole attaching margin being in contact with the foot of the wearer.

8. The shoe of claim 1 further characterized by said core being smaller than the bottom interior of said shoe.

9. A method of shoe manufacture comprising the steps of:

temporarily securing a planar, beveled margin lasting core in a predetermined position on the bottom of a last;

lasting an upper to said lasting core;

removing the high spots of the lasted margin of said upper until the exterior sole attaching margin of said upper and the outer surface of said lasting core are substantially co-planar; securing a sole element to said lasted upper; and thereafter completing the manufacture of the shoe.

10. A method of shoe manufacture comprising the steps of:

temporarily securing a planar, beveled margin lasting core in a predetermined position on the bottom of alast;

wiping an upper over the beveled margin of said lasting core to form a substantially planar surface com- 7 prising the sole attaching margin of the upper and 2,171,414 8/1939 the outer surface of said lasting core; 2,210,735 8/ 1940 securing the margin of said upper to the margin of 2,284,810 6/1942 said lasting core; securing a sole element to said 2 74 ,405 195 lasted upper; and thereafter completing the man- 5 ufacture of the shoe.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1931 DAlessandro. 10 3/1938 Gilkerson et a1. 36-19.5 X

Givren 36-19.5

Thompson 36-19.5 Engel 3619 Stritter 36-195 X ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

